Firearm magazine follower

ABSTRACT

A modified follower in a two column cartridge magazine for a bolt action firearm. An upstanding rib, which extends upwardly and outwardly from the top of the follower to engage the frame of the firearm to limit upward movement of the follower towards said bolt so that the bolt, when reciprocated, does not engage the top of the follower when the magazine is empty of cartridges.

United States Patent Haskell Sept. 16, 1975 FIREARM MAGAZINE FOLLOWER [75] Inventor: Philip R. Haskell, Easton, Conn. 'm Exam?er Verlm Pendegrass Asszstant Examiner-C. T. Jordan [7 A lg l eming m mp ny, Attorney, Agent, or Firm-John H. Lewis, Jr.; Nicholas Bridgeport, Conn. Skovran 22 Filed: Feb. 11, 1974 21 Appl. No.: 441,235 [57] ABSTRACT A modified follower in a two column cartridge maga- 521 US. Cl 42/18; 42/50 for a bolt firearm upstandmg 2 which extends upwardly and outwardly from the top [51] Int. Cl. 1 1 F41C 25/02 5 8 Id f S h 42/50 18 of the follower to engage the frame of the firearm to l 1 1e 0 care limit upward movement of the follower towards said bolt so that the bolt, when reciprocated, does not en- [56] References cued gage the top of the follower when the magazine is UNITED STATES PATENTS empty of cartridges 1] l(),l22 11/1963 Musgravc 42/50 3,373.521 3/1968 1mg 42 50 8 Clams, 7 Drawmg Flgules FIREARM MAGAZINE FOLLOWER This invention relates to bolt action firearms, particularly repeating rifles, where a reciprocating bolt means strips the uppermost (or lowermost) cartridge from a magazine and feeds the cartridge to the firearm chamher for firing.

More specifically, the invention relates to an improved cartridge magazine wherein a modified follower is provided to prevent frictional contact between the reciprocating bolt and the top of the follower when the magazine is empty of cartridges.

Still more specifically, the invention relates to a modified follower for a double column cartridge magazine wherein a limiting means is provided on the follower which limits the upward (or downward) movement of the follower towards the bolt so that when the magazine is empty of cartridges, the bolt and follower are spaced apart so that the bolt can be moved forwardly and rearwardly without scratching or otherwise marring the follower.

In early forms of bolt action or turn bolt rifles with double column cartridge magazines, friction drag on the bolt came from a sear, an ejector system bearing on the bolt body and affixed to the gun frame, plus either pressure of the magazine follower (with an empty mag azine) or top-most cartridge (with a loaded magazine).

The second or upper surface of the follower in military firearms was left with a vertically disposed rear face to act as a bolt stop" to prevent the bolt being pushed forwardly and therefore to signal that the last cartridge had been fired.

In successive designs, the sear was lowered so as to avoid contact with the bolt body, and the ejector system was installed in the bolt body itself. Continued demand from shooters for a bolt motion free ofbinding has resulted in dovetail section bolt lugs and slot-type anti-bind devices. For examples of these, see US. Pat. No. 3,416,253, issued to S. G. O. Larsson on Dec. 17, 1968 and US. Pat. No. 3,426,465, issued to T. R. Robinson, Jr. on Feb. 11, I969.

The present improvement in the follower permits the shooter to check that the bolt motion is free of binding by the simple test of holding the rifle with the muzzle pointed upwardly. If the bolt is properly fitted, the bolt will fall to the rear of its own weight after the bolt handle is lifted. If the bolt is not properly fitted, obviously the bolt will hang-up where it is binding.

The present invention is not involved with holding or feeding cartridges. In addition to permitting a shooter to check whether the bolt motion is free of binding, it is expected that the feature will be attractive to dealers who display and sell firearms. Prospective buyers of bolt action firearms often open, withdraw and push forward the bolt a large number of times before the firearm is sold. Since the bolt *rides" on top of the follower in conventional guns when the magazine is empty, the result is that the top surface of the follower becomes marred by this repeated sliding contact of the bolt on the follower.

The present invention avoids this scratching or ahrading of the follower by the bolt having to depress and pass over the follower. Followers of early turn bolt rifles were hardened and highly polished to resist this wear and were made from steel rich in nickel to avoid rust from cartridges carried in rain-wet pouches or bandoliers. The present invention permits more economical materials to be used for the follower since the only 'shooter'to check very readily whether his firearm bolt is binding or hanging up.

Other objects and advantages will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof when taken in conjunction with the attached claims and drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectionalview of a portion .of a firearm, the magazine utilized with the firearm being also shown in longitudinal section.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the firearm and magazine as taken on Line 22 of FIG. I when the magazine is empty.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2 except that a single cartridge remains in the magazine.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIGS. 2 and 3 except that two cartridges, i. e., one in each column remain in themagazine.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 4 except that larger diameter cartridges are used.

FIG. 6 is a schematic end view of a prior art bolt action firearm showing the bolt in frictional contact with the follower.

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the modified follower of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows the present invention incorporated into a bolt action firearm which is representative of such firearms on the market today. The following discussion will describe in very brief terms the operation of the firearm, or rifle, since the operation of the follower relative to the sliding bolt is the only thing pertinent to this invention.

The rifle 10 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a receiver 12 attached to a stock 14 by means of screw means 16 and I8. A barrel assembly 20 having a chamber 22 and a bore 24 is attached to the forward end of the receiver by thread means 26. A bolt means 28 having locking lugs 30 at its forward end is positioned in the receiver 12 to reciprocate or slide on guide rails 32 into and out of breech closed position, as shown in FIG. 1. A firing pin 34 is positioned in the bolt 28 in a spring-biased, conventional manner. A trigger mechanism (not shown) actuates the firing of the rifle in a conventional manner which is not necessary to explain in-detail at this point for the purposes of this invention.

FIG. I shows the bolt 28 in the breech closed position with the locking lugs 30 rotated in recess in order to lock the bolt in place. A conventional bolt handle (not shown) is connected to the rear portion of the bolt to permit rotation of the bolt and lugs 30 out of supporting position and reciprocation rearwardly to the breech open position.

An opening 42 is provided in the bottom of the receiver 12 for feeding cartridges 44 into the rifle chamber 22. As can be seen in FIGS. 2-4, the bolt 28 extends through 42. Attached to the receiver so as to be aligned with opening 42 is a cartridge magazine 46.

Cartridge magazine 46 preferably comprises an open-ended box-like structure having side walls 48 and end walls 50. FIG. 1 shows the bottom of the magazine closed off by a removable plate 52, which is attached to the gun stock by means of screw means 16 and I8, mentioned previously as attaching the gun stock to the receiver frame. A companion model of this firearm is on the market today having a hinged floor plate so that the details of the outer construction of the cartridge magazine and the specific floor plate are not pertinent to this invention.

An elongated follower plate 54 is located within the magazine and is biased upwardly towards the opening 42 and bolt 28 by a spring biasing means 56 which bears against floor plate 52 and the bottom of the follower plate 54.

As can be seen in FIG. 6, which represents a prior art construction, the follower 54a has a first lower surface 58:: and a second upper surface 604:, each of which surface supports a column of cartridges. When the bolt reciprocates into position and the magazine is empty, the lower surface of the bolt engages the upper surface 60a of the upwardly-biased follower 54a and scratching or marring of the follower occurs.

When cartridges are loaded into the magazine, the first and second surfaces of the follower cooperate with the gun frame and magazine to hold and feed cartridges in the usual manner. Means are provided on the bolt during its forward stroke to strip the top cartridge from the magazine and shove the cartridge into firing position into the gun chamber.

The scratching and marring of the follower caused by the frictional contact of the bolt with the upper surface of the follower when the magazine is empty is the problem to be solved by the present invention.

The solution to the problem is to provide a third surface 62 to the follower 54 so that a clearance would be provided between the bottom surface of the bolt and the upper surface of the follower when the magazine is empty (see FIGv 2).

The third surface 62 is shown in FIGS. 1-5 and 7 and consists of an upturned rib integrally formed to extend outwardly and upwardly from the upper surface 60. The third surface 62 must not interfere with the supporting and feeding function of the magazine and must also abut the bottom surface of the guide rails 32 when the magazine is empty in order to provide the desired clearance between the bolt and the follower (see FIG. 2).

FIG. 1 shows that thethird surface 62 is added to the mid-transverse section of the magazine follower. It should be obvious that the third surface need not be integrally formed with the follower and that the concept can be utilized with the third surface located in a different manner and in a different location. The scope of the protection desired is not to be limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment but by the claims appended hereto. It should also be noted that a cartridge magazine generally can handle more than one size of cartridge. The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 shows a smaller size of cartridge wherein the two columns of cartridges are supported directly on the second or upper surface of the follower. The same magazine would be capable of handling a larger size cartridge in which the lower cartridge would be pushed up against the side wall of the magazine and off the second surface of the follower so that the column of cartridges is not actually being supported by the upper surface of the "follower (see FIG. 5). i

What is claimed is:

1. In a double column cartridge magazine for use with a firearm having a frame and a chamber and a bolt means which reciprocates within said frame and strips individual cartridges from the magazine and thrusts the cartridge into the chamber of the firearm, the improvement comprising a spring-biased follower on which the cartridges are supported. means biasing said follower towards the reciprocating bolt, said follower having a lower surface on which one column of cartridges is supported and an upper surface on which the second column of cartridges is supported thus effecting a staggering of the columns of cartridges, and a bearing means on said follower which is not in engagement with either of said columns of cartridges and which extends outwardly from said second surface to engage the frame of the firearm when the magazine is empty of cartridges so as to prevent frictional contact of the bolt with the second surface of the follower when the bolt is reciprocated in the firearm frame.

2. In a double column cartridge magazine having a follower as recited in claim I, said bearing means comprising a third surface extending outwardly and upwardly from said second surface.

3. In a double column cartridge magazine having a follower as recited in claim 2, said third surface comprising an upturned lip on said second surface, said lip being located approximately centrally of said second surface and extending parallel thereto for at least a portion of the length of said second surface.

4. In a firearm having a receiver, guide means in said receiver, a bolt means reciprocating in said guide means, a cartridge magazine connected to an opening in said receiver so as to provide access to the bolt means, said cartridge magazine comprising a pair of side walls, a pair of end walls, and a bottom wall, an elongated follower means located insaid magazine, means positioned in said magazine between said bottom wall and said follower means for biasing said follower means towards the top end of said magazine, said follower comprising a first portion on which one column of cartridges is supported and a second, elevated portion on which a second column of cartridges may be supported depending on the diameter of the cartridges in the magazine, and a third portion, on said second portion and positioned so as not to interfere with the movement of the second column of cartridges, said third portion engaging the lower side of said guide means when the magazine is empty of cartridges so that the bolt means does not engage the follower when said bolt means is reciprocated.

S. In a cartridge magazine as received in claim 4, said third portion of the follower comprising an elongated rib integrally formed with said second portion and extending to the side and upwardly from said second portion of the follower.

6. In a double column cartridge magazine for use with a firearm having a frame in which guide means are provided to support a reciprocating bolt means. said magazine comprising a box-like structure having its top open-ended and having dimensions which permit the storage and feeding of two columns of the desired number and size of cartridges through said open-ended top. a follower means positioned in said box structure, means biasing said follower means towards said openended magazine top towards said bolt means, said follower means having a lower surface for supporting a first column of cartridges, and an upper elevated surface and means for limiting the movement of said follower towards said bolt means so that when the magazine is empty the follower is vertically spaced from said bolt thus preventing the bolt means from engaging the follower when the bolt is reciprocating with an empty magazine.

7. ln a double column cartridge magazine recited in claim 6, said means for limiting the movement of said follower towards said bolt means comprising a third 

1. In a double column cartridge magazine for use with a firearm having a frame and a chamber and a bolt means which reciprocates within said frame and strips individual cartridges from the magazine and thrusts the cartridge into the chamber of the firearm, the improvement comprising a spring-biased follower on which the cartridges are supported, means biasing said follower towards the reciprocating bolt, said follower having a lower surface on which one column of cartridges is supported and an upper surface on which the second column of cartridges is supported thus effecting a staggering of the columns of cartridges, and a bearing means on said follower which is not in engagement with either of said columns of cartridges and which extends outwardly from said second surface to Engage the frame of the firearm when the magazine is empty of cartridges so as to prevent frictional contact of the bolt with the second surface of the follower when the bolt is reciprocated in the firearm frame.
 2. In a double column cartridge magazine having a follower as recited in claim 1, said bearing means comprising a third surface extending outwardly and upwardly from said second surface.
 3. In a double column cartridge magazine having a follower as recited in claim 2, said third surface comprising an upturned lip on said second surface, said lip being located approximately centrally of said second surface and extending parallel thereto for at least a portion of the length of said second surface.
 4. In a firearm having a receiver, guide means in said receiver, a bolt means reciprocating in said guide means, a cartridge magazine connected to an opening in said receiver so as to provide access to the bolt means, said cartridge magazine comprising a pair of side walls, a pair of end walls, and a bottom wall, an elongated follower means located in said magazine, means positioned in said magazine between said bottom wall and said follower means for biasing said follower means towards the top end of said magazine, said follower comprising a first portion on which one column of cartridges is supported and a second, elevated portion on which a second column of cartridges may be supported depending on the diameter of the cartridges in the magazine, and a third portion, on said second portion and positioned so as not to interfere with the movement of the second column of cartridges, said third portion engaging the lower side of said guide means when the magazine is empty of cartridges so that the bolt means does not engage the follower when said bolt means is reciprocated.
 5. In a cartridge magazine as received in claim 4, said third portion of the follower comprising an elongated rib integrally formed with said second portion and extending to the side and upwardly from said second portion of the follower.
 6. In a double column cartridge magazine for use with a firearm having a frame in which guide means are provided to support a reciprocating bolt means, said magazine comprising a box-like structure having its top open-ended and having dimensions which permit the storage and feeding of two columns of the desired number and size of cartridges through said open-ended top, a follower means positioned in said box structure, means biasing said follower means towards said open-ended magazine top towards said bolt means, said follower means having a lower surface for supporting a first column of cartridges, and an upper elevated surface and means for limiting the movement of said follower towards said bolt means so that when the magazine is empty the follower is vertically spaced from said bolt thus preventing the bolt means from engaging the follower when the bolt is reciprocating with an empty magazine.
 7. In a double column cartridge magazine as recited in claim 6, said means for limiting the movement of said follower towards said bolt means comprising a third surface on said follower which is so positioned as to avoid contact with any cartridges stored in the magazine but which engages said guide means when the magazine is empty of cartridges at a point which results in the follower being vertically spaced from the bolt.
 8. In a double column cartridge magazine as recited in claim 7, said third surface on said follower comprising an elongated rib integrally formed on said second surface and projecting upwardly and outwardly of said second surface. 